Rock walls
150 m deep.
Molgreen — CC BY-SA 4.0 · © 1971markus — CC BY-SA 4.0 · © 1971markus — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Molgreen — CC BY-SA 4.0 · © 1971markus — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Breitachklamm is a gorge cut by the Breitach River in the Allgäu region of southern Germany, at the mouth of the Kleinwalsertal near Tiefenbach, a district of Oberstdorf, about 4 km west of Oberstdorf in a straight line. It is one of the deepest gorges in the Bavarian Alps and the deepest rocky gorge in Central Europe. It formed only in the last 10,000 years, after the last ice age, when the river had to grind its way through hard rock over 2.5 km and up to 150 metres deep. The young pastor Johannes Schiebel founded a society to open up the gorge; the first blasting took place in 1904 and the path opened to visitors on 4 July 1905. Blue-green water churns between towering grey rock walls that almost meet overhead, hung with moss and plants, with fallen trees wedged between the rocks. A path fixed to the rock wall, with a green railing, runs above the roaring water. About 300,000 visitors a year walk the 2.5 km path. Most start at the lower entrance in Tiefenbach, with a visitor centre and plenty of parking; the upper entrance near Walserschanz in Austria has limited parking. The path is wet and slippery, so wear good shoes.
150 m deep.
Blue-green.
Fixed to the rock.
Tiefenbach, Oberstdorf, Bavaria, Germany
At the lower entrance in Tiefenbach.
Good shoes; the path is slippery.